Sonia Gandhi
From Freepedia
Sonia Gandhi (सोनिया गाँधी) (born December 9, 1946), is an Italian-born Indian politician, the president of the Indian National Congress (Congress Party) and the widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. She is currently the chairwoman of the ruling United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha. She was named the third most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine, next to Condoleezza Rice and Wu Yi in the year 2004. She did not find a place in the list for the year 2005.[1].
Contents |
Early life
Born to Stefano and Paola Maino in Orbassano, a town 20 km from Turin, Italy, she spent her adolescence in Orbassano being raised in a conservative Roman Catholic family and attending a Catholic seminary. Her father, a member of the fascist party, and an ardent supporter of Benito Mussolini, was a building contractor, who died in 1983, but her mother and two sisters still live around Orbassano. While doing a certificate course in English in Cambridge, England (but not at the University of Cambridge) she met Rajiv Gandhi, who later became Prime Minister of India. They were married in 1968, after which she took up residence in India. She acquired Indian citizenship in 1983, even though she was eligible for citizenship after 5 years of residence in India. This fact has been used on many occasions by many of her political rivals and freedom fighters to question her patriotism. The couple had two children, Rahul Gandhi (born 1970) and Priyanka Gandhi (born 1971).
Role in Indian politics
Following her husband's assassination on May 21, 1991, there were calls for her to enter politics by members of the Congress Party, mainly due to the presumption that being led by a member of the Nehru family was an electoral asset for the party. After her refusal, the party settled on the choice of P V Narasimha Rao as leader and, subsequently, Prime Minister. She finally entered politics just before the 1998 national election. During her campaign, her opponents (chiefly the Bharatiya Janata Party) played up her foreign birth, her declining to take up Indian citizenship for 15 years after her marriage, and her lack of fluency in Hindi. Her party fared poorly in the elections, and number of seats won dropped from the number in the previous house.
She was elected the Leader of the Opposition of the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999, and in the 2004 election launched an aggressive campaign to unseat the ruling National Democratic Alliance. She had been tipped to be the next Prime Minister of India following her party's surprise victory in the 2004 Lok Sabha election. On May 16 she was unanimously voted to lead a 19-party coalition government which was subsequently named the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
A storm of controversy emerged following her party's victory, as the possibility of a foreign-born Prime Minister caused many freedom fighters to agitate against Sonia. They alleged that she was not only a foreigner but also a political novice with no experience in public life. However, on May 18, a day before her scheduled inauguration, she declined the Prime Minister's post, fearful of large scale agitation by the public and freedom fighters. She suggested economist Manmohan Singh for the Prime Minister's post. Sonia remains at the post of the Leader of the Majority, the Chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party (all Congress MPs).
Gandhi has authored two books: 'Rajiv' and 'Rajiv’s World'. In addition, she has also edited 'Freedom’s Daughter' and 'Two Alone, Two Together' (two volumes of letters exchanged between Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi from 1922 to 1964).
External links
References
- S. R. ET AL. BAKSHI (1998) Sonia Gandhi, The President of AICC South Asia Books. ISBN 8170249880
- Rupa Chaterjee (1999) Sonia Gandhi: The Lady in Shadow Butala. ISBN 8187277025
- C. Rupa, Rupa Chaterjee (2000) Sonia Mystique South Asia Books. ISBN 8185870241
